Several diseases including staph pneumonia and cystic fibrosis require frequent positioning of the patient's body so that mucus and other matter can drain by gravity from his respiratory system. Such postural drainage is commonly accomplished by placing the patient prone on a hospital or other special bed with his head turned to one side and tipping the bed to lower his head. Most patients find this to be an extremely awkward position in which to cough and often times must be raised back up to a horizontal position before they can effectively cough. Further, the natural coughing position, especially in hard coughing, is with the body bent at the waist and not straight as in the bed tipping technique.
Another technique for postural drainage is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,413,664 to Dahlberg issued on Dec. 3, 1968. In this technique, the patient leans over the edge of a bed and places his upper torso on a downwardly inclined, main board with the top of his head against another board. A hole is provided in the main board through which the patient can expel mucus and other matter out of his mouth. This technique has numerous drawbacks. Notably, the patient's head is supported against a board 17 which can be very uncomfortable over the five to twenty minutes often needed for proper drainage and which would be totally unacceptable for patients with head, neck, or back problems. Further, Dahlberg's technique does not allow for head and neck movement and therefore, makes it more difficult for the patient to effectively cough, especially hard coughing, and to expel the mucus from his mouth, especially if he is trying to expel the mucus into a receptacle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,491,385 to Werner issued on Jan. 27, 1970 discloses a postural drainage rest in his FIGS. 1, 2, and 4 in which the patient leans over an inclined surface to assume an inverted sitting position with his legs bent and with his mid-section, upper torso, arms, hands, and head supported on the rest. This inverted sitting position with legs bent that the patient assumes in this embodiment is difficult to hold over any length of time and it is fairly tiring. Further, the support 17 prevents effective movement of the head especially during hard coughing and the rest offers no support for the knees against which the patient could press for more effective coughing, especially during hard coughing. Werner discloses a second embodiment in his FIG. 3 to be used with a bed or table in which the patient kneels on the bed and leans over the rest supporting his mid-section and upper torso on the rest with his head extending over the edge 29 of the bed. This embodiment in use offers support for the knees, mid-section, and upper torso but none for the shoulders, arms, or hands. Also, movement of the head in this second embodiment is severely limited by the edge 29 thereby preventing effective hard coughing and requiring the patient to raise his head to expel the mucus into any receptacle located below the edge 29. From a practical standpoint, the embodiment of FIG. 3 is relatively unsafe since it positions the patient with his neck and Adam's apple at the horizontal edge between the upper and and side surfaces of the bed or table which can be very dangerous when the patient coughs.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,887,151 to Springer illustrates a proctological support in which the patient supports himself entirely on his knees and arms.